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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stock — goods
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. court — for sport
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. court — of a king
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. fine — high quality
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. clip — a video
  18. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com